INDIANAPOLIS -- Tyrann Mathieu took a drug test at 4 a.m. today.
2013 NFL Combine: Tyrann Mathieu’s new best friend is ‘honesty’ not Honey Badger
Kevin C. Cox
After being suspended at LSU and arrested in October because of drug usage, Mathieu should continue expecting early morning tests. Mathieu said at the NFL Combine on Sunday he couldn’t go back to sleep after the test. He shouldn’t expect to fail it.
Mathieu knew the exact date of that last dalliance with drugs. It was Oct. 26. He thought getting kicked out at LSU was rock bottom, but he encountered a new one in October when he was arrested. Since his arrest, Mathieu has dropped the Honey Badger nickname, but not the blond Mohawk or the cavalier attitude.
“I know what it’s like to be humiliated,” Mathieu said. “To go back down that road? Not a chance in my lifetime.”
When he was asked to compare himself to an NFL player, Mathieu said he doesn’t compare himself to anyone but “is somewhere between Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu.” Reed has reached out to Mathieu and his family, and he’s being mentored by former teammate Patrick Peterson.
On the field, Mathieu is an undersized cornerback/safety combo. He doesn’t think it matters if he’s a cornerback or a safety in the NFL and insisted he can play anywhere in the secondary. But he admitted football isn’t his current focus.
“My football skills speak for itself,” Mathieu said. “I’m not focused on football, I’m focused on correcting what I’ve done wrong.”
The wrongs in Mathieu’s past have cost him millions, and he knows it. But as the saying goes, “Honey Badger don’t give a” ... well, you know the rest.
“I’m not focused on money right now,” Mathieu said. “My whole life, I played it for free. If it’s a couple $100,000, it’s still football to me.”
Mathieu said he started buying into his own hype and the Honey Badger nickname. He admitted that he was young and “wanted to have some fun.” He was adamant that he no longer finds those things fun and doesn’t want to relive his past mistakes.
“My best friend right now is honesty,” Mathieu said. “I want to be as open as possible. I want people to trust me. I hold myself accountable.”
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